Carol Ann Duffy Poem Censored from Education Syllabus by AQA
I picked this up from the BBC iPM programme:
You’ve probably read the flurry of press coverage the followed our earlier blog post and the subsequent article in BBC News Online. To recap, exam board AQA removed a poem, Education for Leisure, from a GCSE anthology because of concerns over knife crime.
Firstly. it’s good to see iPM breaking some stories.
A poem – Education for Leisure by Carol Ann Duffy (photo: Guardian) – has been removed from the material examined by an examining board because of the content of the poem. That raises concerns:
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Is it the role of an Exam Board to make “content” decisions?
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Do they have to justify themselves?
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Is the poem actually a problem?
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What are the criteria for these decisions, and are they done consistently?
Education for Leisure by Carol Ann Duffy
Here is the poem:
“Today I am going to kill something. Anything.
I have had enough of being ignored and today
I am going to play God. It is an ordinary day,
a sort of grey with boredom stirring in the streets
I squash a fly against the window with my thumb.
We did that at school. Shakespeare. It was in
another language and now the fly is in another language.
I breathe out talent on the glass to write my name.
I am a genius. I could be anything at all, with half
the chance. But today I am going to change the world.
Something’s world. The cat avoids me. The cat
knows I am a genius, and has hidden itself.
I pour the goldfish down the bog. I pull the chain.
I see that it is good. The budgie is panicking.
Once a fortnight, I walk the two miles into town
For signing on. They don’t appreciate my autograph.
There is nothing left to kill. I dial the radio
and tell the man he’s talking to a superstar.
He cuts me off. I get our bread-knife and go out.
The pavements glitter suddenly. I touch your arm.”
`Education for Leisure’ is taken from `Standing Female Nude’ by Carol Ann Duffy published by Anvil Press Poetry in 1985
We need a Robust Philosophy of Free Expression
I’m concerned with several things here:
1. The “ban it” philosophy that thinks that banning things actually helps anyone in the first place.
2. The “play it safe” philosophy that doesn’t seem to make an especially robust evaluation before caving in to a small number of complaints.
3. Unforgiveably, the fact that the Assessment and Qualifications Authority was not willing to come onto a major news programme (iPM, Radio 4) to defend this action.
4. Our culture which is not clear about what is permitted, and what is not permitted. This poem is banned, but in other areas of our cultural life would be allowed. There is no map, and that leads to capricious decisions and double standards.
I think the poem is mild, and should trigger reflection, which is one of the purposes of poetry in the first place. The reaction from Carol Ann Duffy’s Literary Agent is better than I can write, so I’ll quote it here:
Duffy’s literary agent Peter Strauss said yesterday. “It’s saying, look at what’s been written previously before you criticise this.”
He described the decision to remove Education for Leisure from the syllabus as “absolutely ridiculous. It’s an anti-violence poem. It is a plea for education rather than violence.” The poem, written in the 1980s and studied in schools since, bubbles with the inarticulate rage of a protagonist who kills a fly, then a goldfish, before walking the streets carrying a breadknife.
Mrs Schofield’s GCSE
This is Carol Ann Duffy’s Riposte to Pat Schofield, an external examiner at Lutterworth College, Leicestershire, who complained about the poem and who welcomed the decision to ban a poem she described as “absolutely horrendous”. It was reported in the Guardian.
You must prepare your bosom for his knife,
said Portia to Antonio in which
of Shakespeare’s Comedies? Who killed his wife,
insane with jealousy? And which Scots witch
knew Something wicked this way comes? Who said
Is this a dagger which I see? Which Tragedy?
Whose blade was drawn which led to Tybalt’s death?
To whom did dying Caesar say Et tu? And why?
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark – do you
know what this means? Explain how poetry
pursues the human like the smitten moon
above the weeping, laughing earth; how we
make prayers of it. Nothing will come of nothing:
speak again. Said by which King? You may begin.
Wrapping Up
These days I find myself defending all sorts of things that I don’t agree with – or vehemently oppose – but the bias must be to letting free expression stand. In this case I am flabbergasted that the question of removing the poem from the examined syllabus was even raised.
Where do we go from here? What do you think?
I hope to add a sound snippet to this post later.
[tags]aqa, assessment and qualifications authority, carol ann duffy, education for leisure, pat schofield[/tags]
Categories: All WW, Arts / Culture, Comment, Free Speech Campaign, News - Current Affairs, Review
I read the poem only after we were told it was being removed from the anthology. It is an articulate and thought provoking poem and I would have judged it entirely appropriate for creating discussion on a sensetive subject. Surely the voice of the arts, all arts not just poetry , must be heard in order to provoke us from lethargy, to promote throught, to articulate the inner voice of the dispossed and inarticulate energy that we all possess but so seldom allow to speak. Censorship that starts toi ell us what we may read, see or expereience starts to repress free thought. Surely this is not what eductation is for? Shame on you AQA.
the links made to knife crime and the poem ‘education for leisure’ are slightly ridiculous as being a GCSE student myself i can safey say that one poem dosen’t just encourage people to commint a crime, knife or otherwise. in fact the poems intensions are the exact opposite as they portray a sick or evil persons intensions,making it clearly obvious to any SAINE reader that the actions of this particular character are wrong. when someone decides to commit an offence as serious as knife crime they act upon there own intensions and ideas, and any claim that states the poem might encouage this behavour just gives young offenders excuses, people need to take responsability for there actions. also many offenders are psychologicaly ill, meaning that whether they had read the peom or not they would have lashed out anyway.
I have to confess to not being well acquainted with Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry but I shall definitely go out and get some!
The response is a superb poem in its own right so at least the affair has had some good – rather like Shostakovitch’s Fifth Symphony written as a riposte to his Stalinist critics, even if I had to pretend he agreed with them!
This country becomes more Stalinist/ Facsist call it what you will veery minuite
I have to confess to not being well acquainted with Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry but I shall definitely go out and get some!
The response is a superb poem in its own right so at least the affair has had some good – rather like Shostakovitch’s Fifth Symphony written as a riposte to his Stalinist critics, even if he had to pretend he agreed with them!
This country becomes more Stalinist/ Facsist call it what you will veery minuite
Thanks for the comment John.
Matt
i am studing duffys work at school and i think it is an outrage that her work has been taken out of the gcse
1 it is violent yes but it makes u smile some of the things she writes
yes there has been a few complaints about this poem but why dont they ask the students what they think about it and shurly now knife crime is high schools should be teaching poems like this so people avoid being like this in later years
It is absolutly ridiculous, when you think about the films and tv programs that young people (teenagers) are exposed to and the amount of violence which they contain, it is then just plain stupid to think that a great peom that suggests a knife crime is going to be the cause of any trouble or crime.
blake
It is ridiculous to censor this poem. I’m in year 11 and when i was told about this stupid idea I couldn’t believe it.
Education for Leisure is an intelligent, thought-provoking poem that is obviously AGAINST knife crime. This Pat Schofield is obviously very narrow-minded and literal. ‘absolutely horrendous’? Well of course, you nit, it’s making a point! It’s a skilful exploration of what makes psychopaths tick, and I can’t believe one petty-minded, interfering woman has managed to censor it. Give students some credit!
Well, Mrs Schofielf, although I’ve studied this poem and it is a tempting idea, no I am not going to stab you with a breadknife.
Er … yep, and thanks for the comment.
Matt
I totally agree with all remarks relating to the banning of C A Duffy’s work it serves little purpose. I am rather more worried about GCE candidates not being able to spell the English lanquage correctly and that is something examiners should be putting right. Teachers are to blame for allowing it in the first place and I used to teach. It is every teachers reponsibility not just the English teacher.
Lea
Thanks for the comment.
Matt
I totally agree with all remarks relating to the banning of C A Duffy’s work it serves little purpose. I am rather more worried about GCE candidates not being able to spell the English lanquage correctly and that is something examiners should be putting right. Teachers are to blame for allowing it in the first place It is the reponsibility of every teacher not just the English teacher. How wood Duffy’s work be receved if it was litterd with spellin mistaks?
In response to the comment about spelling….
The ability to spell when typing is not a true test of spelling ability. typing like all other skills is learned. Once acertain spellings are learned in they are typed atomatically correct or otherwise. I have this problem with my typing all the time and I can assure Leah that typography rather than teachers are responsible for phonetic text speak and spelling. However the points made are articulate amd thoughtful which is surely a greater prize.
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Thanks the the comment, Nena.